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Guadalupe Urbina – An All-Around Artist

12 June, 2011 03:58:00 Kacey Schneider

Photo By Bernal Agosta

Many artists are talented in one field – they sing beautifully, create moving pieces of art, or write soulful poems and stories. Artists who are equally talented across the board in multiple artistic areas, however, are harder to find. Guadalupe Urbina is one of those artists, and Costa Rica is lucky to have her. Urbina is an accomplished songwriter, musician, and artist. Taking inspiration from the world and work of others around her, she composes songs that consist of music and poetry. While she does write her own song lyrics, she also compiles and interprets other people’s poetry and writings and puts their words to her music. In addition to her musical talent, Urbina is a skilled artist. She has created a series of paintings that are inspired by her ethnic roots and have pre-columbian tendencies. These paintings help convey her messages of addressing cultural identity and environmental sustainability. Guadalupe’s inspiration to create works which touch the heart of Costa Rican culture started at a young age. She tributes much of her work to growing up rurally in a large family; as the youngest of ten siblings, she developed an inherent sense of respect for the nature and culture with which she was surrounded. She says about her upbringing influencing her art: “I come from a family where music and the arts were considered activities of respect and admiration…A large family allows me to have more insight to everything around, to see more clearly, to know what the place that suits you and what you do…in large families, solidarity and cooperative work are a school. My family was my school to do everything I do.” Guadalupe’s work is moving and passionate, and when both her art and music are presented together or layered in some way, the result is stunning. Her colorful artwork exudes vibrancy, and her music alternates between having a haunting quality that deeply strikes the heart of her Mesoamerican culture to having a more lively, inspiring feeling. Guadalupe explained that the stage is where she feels most alive, and her art is a product of the connection she fees to the world around her. “What I write, paint or sing is all related and is focused on my connection with Mother Earth, with the philosophy of our indigenous peoples, rural areas and mestizo identity of farming villages and coastlines. Everything in my work has a unity despite the great diversity and has become a style and a way to see and do in life.” Urbina’s song Origins, which is a tribute to her racial and cultural roots, and her song Madre de la Mar, which encompasses the spiritual path she’s inherited from the feminine principals of her Latin American background, show both of these qualities and embrace the connection she so strongly feels. Guadalupe not only an artist; she is also the president of Voz Propia Foundation. The organization was founded in 1999, and the main goals of the foundation are to work with children in the arts, help Costa Ricans appreciate their cultural identity and value through both artistic and ecological projects that center on humanity. When discussing her involvement in the foundation, she explained the crucial role she believes these types of organizations play in communities, she said , “Foundations are tools; in our case, the Voz Propia Foundation funds resources for projects that enable the empowerment of women and youth in a society where it is necessary and urgent to get an active participation of women and new generations in the making decisions to a greater social, spiritual and cultural balance.” One of the ways Guadalupe recently helped out a local Guanacaste community was performing at CEPIA’s annual fundraising event that was held on Saturday, April 30^th at the Le Beach Club in Tamarindo. CEPIA’s “Music Marathon” started at noon with a garage sale which moved into a silent auction at 2:00pm. The music concert went into the evening, and while Guadalupe Urbina was the featured artist, the talents of Natalia Esquivel, Max Goldenberg, Los Cascabeles y DJ Timour were also showcased. All of the artists performed free to support CEPIA’s cause and collaborate with organization. Their participation and support, as well as their lively and entertaining performances, were much appreciated by all. Tickets were available for the event with dinner included for $25. CEPIA is a non-profit organization that helps promote educational and cultural events in the community for the youth and low-income members. All of the money raised from the Music Marathon went to helping CEPIA make those types of events happen. Unfortuantley, the turnout for this event was low, which is disappointing. CEPIA needs the support of everyone in the community to attend these types of functions and fund-raisers to help the Costa Rican youth and ultimately the future of the coast. We hope to see more people attend and support local events like this when the next one happens.